The type of fish most commonly caught in Wisconsin in the winter is panfish. In fact, of the 17 million fish caught during the winter, about 90% are panfish. Of these, bluegill and perch are by far the most abundant. Northern pike and walleye are also frequently caught in winter. Thirty percent of Wisconsin's year-round total catch of game fish are caught in the winter.

Bluegill

Bluegill hover near weed beds, brush piles, near rocky shores, and in calm bays. Just before winter really sets in, they can be found in water 4 to 6 feet deep. During this time, just after freeze-up and again a few weeks before the ice breaks, bluegill fishing is reputed to be best. When the temperatures drop in January and February, they retreat to deeper waters--up to 20 feet deep. But bluegills are generally taken at depths of less then 12 feet.

The preferred hook is a bright-colored, tear-drop lure on which bait can be impaled. Good bait  includes earthworms, manure worms, rat-tail, meal worms, wax worms, goldenrod gall larvae, and other insect larvae.

Northern Pike
On bright days with clear ice, northerns may hover just off the bottom at depths of 4 to 12 feet. At dawn or dusk when the day is overcast, they may be ghosting close under the ice. Pike generally stay in the shallows, foraging for small fish near weed beds. The use of two lines at different and varying depths is one very practical way to learn their habits as conditions change.

Live minnows make good bait, especially if care is taken to bait the hook so that they are alive and able to swim. Northerns often prefer smelt to minnows. When fishing with dead smelt on a Swedish hook, set the hook on the northerns first run.

Otherwise, when he turns the bait, he will feel the hook and spit it out. Hooking and landing game fish differs sharply from landing panfish. The northern is not a discreet nibbler like the panfish. He may materialize like a dark phantom, finning into a "holding pattern" about 3 feet from your twitching minnow.

Walleye
Often state conservation or fisheries departments offer lake bottom maps, which show depth contours and the location of weed beds, sandbars, drop-offs, deep holes, and sometimes underwater springs. Try the contour maps on the Fishing page.

Walleyes range widely, often in schools. Heavy predators of small fish, they may travel along the contour of the shore, along shoals, and in shallower bays. At dusk, in particular, walleyes move into shallow bays to feed on smaller fish.

It helps to become familar with a lake during the summer so you can recall these features when they are iced over.On an unfamiliar lake without such aids, you can cut your hole near other fishing holes, or start prospecting reasonably close to shore. If your first hole or two draws a blank, drill new holes at evenly spaced intervals until the bottom drops sharply away.

--Excerpted from "Ice Fishing" by Warren Downs. For a complete printed copy of the complete brochure, send 50 cents to Wisconsin Sea Grant (for shipping and handling). Email  Linda Campbell for more information linda@seagrant.wisc.edu